Indictment offers clues about companies with ties to John Wiley Price

The indictment against Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and his allies Kathy Nealy, Christian Campbell and Dapheny Fain uses a string of initials to refer to businesses and individuals. The indictment does not accuse any of the companies of a crime or wrongful conduct or indicate that they were aware money paid to Nealy was going to Price to buy his support for her clients. Companies that spoke to The Dallas Morning News said they did nothing wrong and are cooperating with investigators. Federal authorities did not name all the businesses, but here are the apparent identities of many, based on descriptions in the indictment and other court and county documents:

Business A: Atos Origin, which took over an IT contract with Dallas County from Schlumberger Limited. Schlumberger sold most of its IT services assets to Atos. Nealy, a consultant, was paid about $229,000 by Atos, the indictment indicates. Campbell served as an account manager for Schlumberger and also was paid as a consultant for Atos. The company retained Nealy based on her “proven in-roads with Price in prior years,” the indictment said. Price met with Atos representatives and advocated for the company on the Commissioners Court. Price allegedly met with Nealy privately to share inside county information about Atos. A search warrant for Price’s home in 2011 sought records related to Atos. The company also is mentioned in an asset forfeiture lawsuit filed against Price in 2012 and in a supporting affidavit by former FBI Agent Don Sherman.

Business B: BearingPoint, which got a Dallas County contract in 2005 to digitize the county clerk’s records. Both Nealy and Campbell are identified as consultants to BearingPoint. Price is alleged to have advocated for the company’s interests with other commissioners after a selection committee had recommended eliminating it from consideration for the digitization contract. BearingPoint ultimately signed a five-year contract worth about $3.2 million. The indictment accuses Nealy of obtaining confidential county documents from Price. A search warrant for Price’s home in 2011 sought records related to BearingPoint. The company also is mentioned in an asset forfeiture lawsuit filed against Price in 2012 and in a supporting affidavit by Sherman.

Business C: CyberDyne Systems, an IT services company. Price voted against its interests in favor of another IT company several times. Price is accused of leaking confidential county information about CyberDyne to Nealy during the no-contact period of a contract solicitation. CyberDyne won a five-year contract worth about $8.5 million to provide desktop technical support to the county in 2007. The indictment links a specific county document related to that contract to Business C and states that it won the contract.

Business H: Hillwood, Ross Perot Jr.’s company. It sought to have its DeSoto property included in a designated foreign trade Zone. Price allegedly advocated on the company’s behalf. The indictment alleges that Price delayed progress on the southern inland port in order to push for Hillwood’s late request to be included in the FTZ application. The indictment alleges that “Price and Nealy conducted secret, concealed transactions to advance Business H’s interests and to unlawfully enrich themselves.” Perot has declined to comment through a spokesperson. A search warrant for Price’s home in 2011 sought records related to Hillwood. The company also is mentioned in an asset forfeiture lawsuit filed against Price in 2012 and in a supporting affidavit by Sherman.

Business L: Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, which has a contract to collect debts for Dallas County. The indictment alleges that Business L sought to do business with Business B. Nealy is described as being “very close to a partner in Business L.” DeMetris Sampson, a named partner in the law firm who recently retired, is mentioned in the search warrant of Price’s home. The original search warrants also sought any records in Price’s possession related to the law firm. The indictment alleges that after Business L had “submitted a proposal for financial collection services to the City of Atlanta, Price signed a recommendation letter addressed to the city’s procurement officer on the company’s behalf.” Joe Householder, spokesman for Linebarger, said: “We have cooperated with the United States attorney in this investigation and will continue to do so. The indictments allege no wrong doing by our firm or any of its members.” A search warrant for Price’s home in 2011 sought records related to the law firm.

Business M: Millennium 2000, Karen Manning’s art gallery. The indictment said Price used it to conceal income. Price also is accused of using campaign money to buy art that he sold through the gallery. The indictment says Price “maintained inventory on a consignment basis,” including art he advertised as the “John Wiley Priceless Collection” or the “Priceless Collection.” An affidavit by Sherman filed in 2012 alleged that the gallery or Manning “made payments to Price in excess of $100,000.” Manning is not named in the indictment and could not be reached. Manning and Millennium 2000 are mentioned in the 2011 search warrant for Price’s home, the 2012 asset forfeiture lawsuit and Sherman’s affidavit.

Business O: OC3 Technology, a minority subcontractor on the Schlumberger/Atos contract. Nealy in 2002 “helped facilitate the negotiation of the terms” of that subcontractor agreement with Schlumberger, the indictment said. The indictment said Price “specified” that the firm get a certain percentage of the bids submitted for contracts in Dallas County and other jurisdictions. OC3’s website lists Atos as a client. County documents show that Schlumberger used OC3 as a minority subcontractor.

Business Q: Qnet Information Services. A minority subcontractor that was “specified by Price” to get a certain percentage of the bids submitted for contracts in Dallas County and other jurisdictions, according to the indictment. Price pressured Schlumberger to hire Qnet as a subcontractor, the indictment said. Qnet has had county work since 2002. In 2011, Qnet was awarded a three-year contract worth about $3.6 million in 2011, with options to extend, to handle desktop technical support services for the county. Qnet is mentioned in the asset forfeiture case and Sherman’s affidavit.

Business S: Schlumberger Ltd., the company that was awarded the $43 million contract to run and maintain the county’s computer systems in 2002. The indictment alleges that Price repeatedly voted to help Schlumberger get business. Nealy had contracts extended or renewed with Schlumberger for providing “direct communication to appropriate decision makers,” including “elected officials and staff,” according to the indictment. Price, Nealy and Campbell “conducted secret, concealed transactions” to advance the company’s interests, the indictment alleges. The daughter of a politician identified as C.K. was hired by Schlumberger “at Price’s insistence, and with pressure from Nealy and Campbell,” the indictment alleges. Price also is accused of leaking to Nealy internal county documents related to projects Schlumberger was pursuing. Schlumberger is referred to repeatedly in the 2012 asset forfeiture case and in Sherman’s affidavit.

Business T: Tootsie’s Braiding Gallery, a tenant in a property in the 2400 block of South Lancaster Road that Nealy allegedly bought for Price. The owner, Maurine “Tootsie” Jones, reportedly does Price’s hair. The indictment alleges that Price sold African art from the business and that Nealy gave Price rent payments totaling about $113,600 from the Lancaster Road property. When contacted, Jones said: “You need to talk to them about that, not me. And thank you for being concerned.” County tax records show that the business is the only tenant in the South Lancaster Road properties owned by Nealy and has operated from that location for more than a decade.

Business U: Unisys Corp., an IT services company that sometimes partnered with Vignon Corp., another IT company, when submitting bids for Dallas County contracts. Unisys was awarded a five-year contract in June 2008 for inmate phone services to Dallas County Jail facilities. Price voted against giving contracts to Unisys’ competitor, the indictment said. Price also is accused of helping Unisys by forwarding to Nealy internal county emails from the county’s purchasing agent about Unisys’ bid. Unisys is referred to repeatedly in the 2012 asset forfeiture case and in Sherman’s affidavit. The indictment refers to a specific county document related to the contract that Business U won; Unisys won that contract.

Business V: Vignon Corp, which sometimes partnered with Unisys when bidding on Dallas County contracts. Vignon successfully partnered with county vendors on various projects. It hired Nealy in 2006 as a consultant, and Nealy lobbied on the company’s behalf until 2010, the indictment said. Vignon paid Nealy about $159,000 during that time, the indictment said. Price and Nealy gave Vignon confidential county documents while the firm sought county work, the indictment said. Vignon was named in the 2011 search warrant for Price’s home. The company’s website states that it partnered with Qnet on a 2011 county desktop support contract. A former county official involved in the contracting process confirmed that Business V was Vignon.

Business X: SBC Communications and AT&T, which shared a common history and merged in 2005. The indictment alleges that Fain renamed “Male Man Sales to “MMS Company” at the request of Business X. On one occasion, Price deposited a Business X check for $57,031 made payable to MMS into an MMS account and got $9,800 in cash back. Price also “split-deposited” other checks from Business X, the indictment alleges. Southwestern Bell/AT&T wrote more than $1.4 million in checks to the company, according to an FBI affidavit. The affidavit alleges that Price had a personal relationship with an SBC manager and encouraged her to use MMS as a vendor. AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said: “We are not in a position to comment on the case, but it’s important to note that there are no allegations of impropriety by our company.” AT&T was named in the 2011 search warrant for Price’s home, the 2012 asset forfeiture case and Sherman’s affidavit.

C.K.: Identified as the daughter of a Texas politician who was a “close personal friend” of Price. Price pressured Schlumberger to hire her in 2003.

H.T.: Identified only as an employee of a Nealy business client who “championed the renewal” of Nealy’s contract and who “covertly increased” Campbell’s pay “so Campbell could pay Nealy during an RFP selection period.”

MMS Co.: The company, identified in the indictment, is owned by Price and Fain, a longtime Price aide. The company, described as a distributor of electronics and promotional materials on its website, also was once known as “Male Man Sales.” The indictment alleges that Price “received approximately $133,925 from MMS but reported none of this income on his tax returns.” An FBI affidavit said that Price’s nonprofit, KwanzaaFest Inc., made purchases from MMS “in excess of $120,000” and that he used his campaign funds to make purchases “in excess of $60,000.” The 2011 search warrant for Price’s home, the 2012 asset forfeiture lawsuit and Sherman’s affidavit mention Fain and MMS.

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